Mountain Biking Hazardous To Your Spine

New research indicates the increasingly popular recreational
sport of mountain biking may be just as dangerous as other sports like
football, hockey, skiing and rugby. Canadian researchers reviewed 107 patients
seen at a spinal referral center during a 13-year period who were injured while
mountain biking. The majority of those injured were male with the average age
of 33. Of those injured, almost two-thirds required surgery and 40 percent
sustained spinal cord injuries. Worse yet, of those 40 percent who had spinal
cord injury, almost half resulted in complete paralysis. Moreover, at discharge
2 patients remained on a ventilator. Surprisingly, the study also found that
helmets didn’t appear to help in reducing spinal injures, although, they
protected the head. Thus, while helmets are important in protecting the head
and brain, they offer little protection to the cervical spine when riders go
over the handle bars or fall from heights and land on their heads. Researchers
advise mountain bikers and for that matter all bikers, to use extreme caution
when thinking about or performing any tricks or jumps. They also advised to
ride with others and to stay together just incase someone becomes injured.

New Research Sheds Light on Chiropractic and Multiple Sclerosis

Recent research reported in the Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family
Health - Chiropractic revealed improvement in symptoms related to multiple sclerosis in a
woman undergoing chiropractic care suggesting that chiropractic may play an
important role in managing people with such disorders.

The
51 year old woman reported on in the study also suffered from gastroesophageal
reflux disorder (often called GERD), asthma and a number of other problems
which were all helped through chiropractic care. The research includes a review
of the literature on the role of chiropractic in such disorders.

"Research
is revealing that there is a relationship between abnormalities in the spine,
the nervous system and brain," stated Dr. Ben Lerner,
lead author of the paper.
"Researchers from different fields are now showing that trauma, problems in the
upper neck and problems with blood flow to and from the brain may be playing a
significant role in multiple sclerosis."

Research
has shown that in many cases people who have multiple sclerosis have a history
of head and/or neck trauma and researchers studying this in chiropractic
suggest that this trauma also cause misalignments of the bones in the neck. The
trauma along with the misalignments can lead to compression of nerve structures
as well as alterations of blood flow leading to the degenerative conditions and
other problems associated with multiple sclerosis.

"It
makes perfect sense when you think about it" stated Dr. Sheri
Lerner, a co-author on the paper.
"Our study is one more example of how people with these debilitating conditions
can be helped through specific chiropractic adjustments to restore normal
spinal and nervous system function."

According
to Dr. Matthew McCoy, a chiropractor, public health researcher and editor of
the journal that published the study, "Chiropractors
have been talking about these links for some time now and I think research in
this area will soon reach a critical mass because its not just chiropractors
saying this any more. You have researchers in several different fields coming
to similar conclusions. The real challenge with these models is going to be
showing what works best and chiropractic has a respectable foundation of
research in this area" stated McCoy.

In
the case reported on in the article the initial application of chiropractic was
followed by nutritional advice which included eliminating sugar and grains from
the patient's diet. Correction of the spinal and related neurological
interference was the first priority however. Abnormal position or movement of
the spinal vertebra can develop and this can lead to nerve and vascular
interference. It is this interference, called vertebral subluxations, that
chiropractors correct.

The
woman reported on in the study suffered from a number of health challenges
including multiple sclerosis, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), asthma,
osteoarthritis, and scoliosis. She also had complaints of neck pain, back pain
and jaw pain. She had been under the care of several healthcare professionals
prior to presenting to the chiropractic office. These practitioners included
the family medical doctor, a neurologist, allergist, rheumatologist,
gastrointestinal specialist, cardiologist, and dermatologist. She was taking
several medications.

The
patient began to report improvement in pain levels throughout her body after
just 12 visits, had better mobility and was able to increase her physical
activity. Her lung function and posture improved and she was gradually able to
discontinue all her medications. Follow-up x-rays revealed an improvement in
the crucial curve in her neck.

The
authors of the study call for more research on the role of chiropractic care in
these types of disorders.

House Passes Bill to Expand Chiropractic Care to All Major VA Medical Centers

The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.
1017, the "Chiropractic Care Available to All Veterans Act," tonight, putting
America's veterans one step closer to gaining access to chiropractic care at
all major Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers. The bill was
approved 365:6.

H.R. 1017 requires the VA to have doctors of
chiropractic on staff at no fewer than 75 major VA medical centers before the
end of 2011 and for all major VA medical centers to have a doctor of
chiropractic on staff before the end of 2013. There are nearly 160 VA treatment
facilities nationwide. Currently, the VA provides chiropractic care at 32
treatment facilities across the country.

The bill comes after a recent VA report, "Analysis
of VA Health Care Utilization Among Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and
Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) Veterans," from Feb 2010 which cites "diseases of
Musculoskeletal System/Connective System," such as back pain, as the number one
ailment of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans accessing VA treatment.

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA)
believes that the inclusion of chiropractic care in the VA health care system
would speed the recovery of many of the veterans returning from current
operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Chiropractic care has been proven to be a
cost-effective and beneficial treatment option. In fact, a 2010 study published
in Clinical Rehabilitation
found that spinal manipulation provided better short and long-term functional
improvement and more pain relief in follow-up assessments than other
physiotherapy interventions. Furthermore, a 2003 study published in the medical
journal Spine found
that manual manipulation provides better short-term relief of chronic spinal pain
than a variety of medications.

House VA Committee Chairman Bob Filner (D-CA), a
strong supporter of extending chiropractic care benefits to military retirees
and active-duty personnel, introduced the legislation. Over the years, Rep.
Filner has worked closely with ACA in securing support for a number of
pro-chiropractic measures. Rep. Michael Michaud (D-ME), Ranking Member
Steve Buyer (R-IN) and Rep. Jerry Moran (R-KS) also deserve recognition for
their support of this legislation.

"For too long, veterans have been denied access to
the chiropractic care that they want, need and deserve through the VA," said
ACA President Rick McMichael, DC. "I am proud that ACA has worked closely with
our congressional allies, such as Rep. Filner, on behalf of our nation's heroes
and in support of this important bill."

Prior to congressional intervention over the past
decade, no doctors of chiropractic served on the staff of any VA treatment
facility. The availability of chiropractic care for eligible veterans was limited
to VA "referrals" to doctors of chiropractic serving in private practice
outside of the VA system. Such referrals were so rare that chiropractic care
was essentially non-existent within the VA system.

"I am especially proud that the member institutions
that comprise the Association of Chiropractic Colleges will play a pivotal role
in preparing the next generation of doctors of chiropractic to serve our
military veterans throughout the United States and overseas," said Frank J.
Nicchi, DC, MS, President of the Association of Chiropractic Colleges. "This
legislation will assist in making that possible."

In the U.S. Senate, a companion bill (S1204) has
been introduced by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), who is a member of the Senate VA
Committee. This legislation would also expand access to chiropractic care
within the VA system.

The American Chiropractic Association, based in
Arlington, Va., is the largest professional association in the United States
representing doctors of chiropractic. ACA promotes the highest standards of
ethics and patient care, contributing to the health and well-being of millions
of chiropractic patients.

Food industry to Obama: We'll Improve Nutrition

The
U.S. food industry is willing to let the White House take the lead on making
foods healthier in schools, but said on Friday it could improve what is sold on
store shelves without government intervention.

"The
school environment is a special environment where having a government play a
role in setting the standards for what's sold makes sense," Scott Faber, a
vice president at the Grocery Manufacturers Association, told reporters.

"I
think the public marketplace is a different environment," he said.

The
Obama administration has launched an initiative, led by first lady Michelle
Obama, to combat growing levels of obesity among children. She has urged food
makers to work faster to reformulate or repackage food to make it healthier for
children.

"They
respect our ability to find ways to produce more products that offer consumers
more choices including choices with less sodium, less sugar, less fat,"
said Faber.

The
food industry group said its members improved the nutritional value of more
than 10,000 products between 2002 and 2006 and plans in May to update that
total to include changes through 2009.

A
separate initiative called the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation -- which
includes many GMA members -- will announce pledges to improve the health
content of its products later this month.

Obesity
rates among U.S. children have doubled in the past 20 years, and almost a third
of American children are either overweight or obese.

Obesity
causes a host of health problems such as heart disease and diabetes and costs
the United States an estimated $150 billion each year, according to U.S.
federal agencies.

"We've
heard from consumers and you can see this in the companies in terms of how
they've changed their recipes," said Pamela Bailey, president and chief
executive of GMA.

In
an effort not to miss the lucrative push toward healthier foods, major food
manufacturers have recently changed some popular products.

Kraft
Foods, the maker of Oreo cookies and Velveeta cheese, announced it would cut
sodium levels in its North American products by about 10 percent over the next
two years -- eliminating more than 750 million teaspoons of salt.

PepsiCo,
the world's No. 2 soft-drink maker, vowed in March to cut the levels of salt,
sugar and saturated fats in its top-selling products by 2020.